410 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
The bay-seine fishery.—In 1890 29 seines were used in taking fish for 
the Aransas Pass markets, and 90 men were employed in operating 
them. The catch amounted to 1,198,000 pounds of seale fish valued at 
$41,925, and 46,100 pounds of green turtle and terrapins, for which the 
fishermen received $1,637. The number of sail craft employed in the 
bay-seine fishery in that year was 27, the value of which was $11,600. 
Of these only 5 were over 5 tons measurement. 
The price received by the fishermen for their catch was 34 cents per 
pound in 1890; it was 35 and 4 cents in 1889, while in 1887 and 1888 
it was only 3 cents per pound round weight. 
During the last two or three years, on account of the abundance of 
fish and the good shipping facilities, the seine fishery has been more 
prosperous at Aransas Bay than at other points along the Texas coast. 
The average catch of fish to each man engaged in this fishery at Aransas 
Bay in 1890 was 13,823 pounds, valued at $484. 
The favorite fishing-grounds are north of Live Oak Peninsula, 
Shallow Bay, along the shores of St. Joseph Island, in Redfish Bay, 
and St. Charles Bay. Seines are not used in the rivers nor outside in 
the Gulf of Mexico. 
Hook-and-line and other fisheries.—In May and June numbers of per- 
sons engage in taking jewfish with hook and line, and about 25,000 
pounds are captured annually. The catch is usually sold to the mar 
ketmen at 4 cents per pound. The quantity of redfish, trout, tarpon, ete., 
taken by means of hooks and lines by sportsmen and the professional 
fishermen who engage at odd times in this fishery is about 35,000 pounds 
annually. These would sell in the local markets for about $1,200. 
In most of the rivers in this section of the State there are many . 
catfish, but no established fishery for taking them exists here as in 
Louisiana. These fish are especially abundant in the Guadalupe River, 
which empties into San Antonio Bay. They are very popular, in many 
places being preferred to trout (squeteague) and redfish. The market 
for them in the State was developed by the dealers at Morgan City, La. 
A few cast nets are used here, and flounders and crabs are taken by 
means of spears and lines, respectively. These fisheries, however, are 
of minor importance. 
The oyster industry.—Next to the seine fishery the taking of oysters 
is the most important fishery of Aransas Bay. Twenty-six men were 
employed in this fishery in 1890, and the catch amounted to 26,550 
bushels, for which the fishermen received $6,600. The reefs resorted 
te change from year to year, on account of the freshets occasionally 
destroying many of the beds. During some years the greater part of 
the oysters handled are obtained from reefs in Matagorda Bay. The 
best-known reefs in Aransas Bay and tributaries are located off the 
northeast section of St. Joseph Island and in the southern waters of 
Copano Bay. In the extreme eastern part of Aransas Bay there are 
several small and scattered reefs which are quite productive. The area 
